Combustion
by oksofia
Summary: The attraction between Batman and Wonder Woman is at an unspoken detente, but when she starts seeing one of his friends, Bruce finds himself embroiled in an occult mystery, an accidental relationship with Selina Kyle, and an awkward request from Etrigan.
1. Chapter 1

**AN**: This story's got lots of Batman animated series characters and references (e.g. Veronica, Andrea, Jason Blood). Since it's first-person Batman - who is pretty difficult to write! - feedback will be hecka appreciated.

* * *

_but something beats within my shirt to prove  
__he is undead who,living,noone is.  
__I have never loved you dear as now i love.  
_- e.e. cummings

"Batman, I need to talk to you."

After the Founder's meeting we just had, I'm out of patience. I would do anything for Clark, but I would never let him run any meeting I'm in. Every irrelevant viewpoint is meticulously examined and debated; each aside is tolerated with a patient and expectant smile. The meeting was about the pre-emptive patrolling of a distant planet with a newly instated leader, but Clark let Flash talk for a good four minutes about the last time he went scuba-diving. He was careful to avoid me, or he would have seen me staring him down. He _did_ catch Wonder Woman's eye, however, and her expression was enough for him to hurry through the rest of the meeting.

It was a waste of my time. I can't be later for patrol than I already am, but I'd be remiss if I don't give Diana five minutes. "That's fine."

Her eyes sweep around us. "In private, please."

I can hear Flash nearby wondering aloud to J'onn why fish go to 'schools', so I reach past her and punch in the access code for the meeting room we had just walked out of and follow her back in.

She looks a little anxious when the doors slide shut behind us. Crosses her arms and leans against the table. "I'm seeing someone from Gotham."

I admit: I've been expecting a conversation about this for a while, especially after last month's mission, which ended with us kissing – again. Wonder Woman and I tend to do that when we think the world is about to end, and situations like that are inevitable in our line of work. I've stopped trying to keep it a secret that I care about her a little more than I care about most of my other teammates, but I've also tried to make it clear that there's nothing between us beyond that. "We're _not_ seeing each other, Diana."

"No, Bruce," she frowns. "Someone else. I've started dating someone who lives in Gotham. I'm telling you this so that you know that I'll be spending some time in your city. Socially."

I'm quiet as I search for a reason to object. "When were you in Gotham?"

"I wasn't," she says quickly, "I met him at one of Audrey's parties in Kasnia, and as it happens, he's from Gotham."

"Who is he?"

She stands up. "I'm afraid you'll have to find out with everyone else. What are your terms?"

In my mind, I'm running down the list of every male socialite in the city, but I can still bring up my fist face-level and hold up one finger for each condition. "You won't enter the city in your Wonder Woman costume. You'll avoid the paparazzi. You won't actively seek out contact with Bruce Wayne or Batman while in Gotham. You won't interfere with my patrol, ever."

"Of course," she nods. She looks relieved, I realize, with a stab of something that feels close to disappointment. "You won't even know I'm there."

- - -  
I'm sore to admit that I was distracted during patrol after that. And all day today, the sentence _I'm seeing someone from Gotham_ keeps cropping up in my thoughts. I'm allowed to be curious. Diana and I have a fraught relationship, in that we would trust each other with our lives but not our hearts. And on top of that, she's going to be in _my_ city, and I'm allowed to want to know what's going on _my_ city.

I just don't like that I have to convince myself so adamantly that it's okay to be curious.

I walk into the foyer as I'm adjusting the sleeves on a new sport coat that Alfred recently picked up for me. "I'm ready," I announce.

Alfred's already there waiting for me. "Very good, sir," he nods as he puts on his chauffeur's cap and opens the door. "And may I say that I am pleased to see that for once you aren't struggling to avoid a social commitment."

I grin. "It's _Veronica_, Alfred. I don't think I've ever missed one of her parties."

"Quite true. Even someone as vapid as Master Brucie must be allowed at least one true friend."

"Great, the butler has a sense of humor," I joke. He winks at me.

Veronica Vreeland is one of the few people among the bevy of Gotham socialites whose company I can stand. And after knowing her for as long as I have, I genuinely like her. Spending time with her will mean that I'll be distracted from what I've been thinking about all day.

Tonight Veronica has promised an "intimate evening with old friends," which really means a noisy bash with at least a hundred people and free reign for the press – it's just how she is, and right now I'm glad that she tends to exaggerate things. Being Ronnie's arm candy for the night under a strobe light of paparazzi flashbulbs should take my mind off of Diana's news.

But when Alfred pulls up at her mansion's front entrance, I see that Ronnie wasn't embellishing the truth this time – it's in fact a dinner for only twenty of her friends, and I'm the last one to arrive.

"You'll _never_ guess who's here!" she shrills when she receives me, only slightly buzzed. I'm unnerved for a split second – what if she means Wonder Woman? But no, Veronica would never be able to keep that kind of news to herself for this long. After dragging me into the living room, she points to a man with a shock of red hair standing alone by the fireplace. "Look!"

It takes me a second to register him as Leif Thompson, Veronica's first fiancé and someone I haven't seen in almost twenty years. Leif recognizes me at once and gives a broad grin. We shake hands like old friends. Even back in those days being friends with Veronica Vreeland meant being friends with me. Once, Andrea and I even went out on a double date with them.

"You haven't changed a bit, Wayne," marvels Leif as Veronica shoves drinks into our hands.

"Right back at you. Are you back in Gotham for good?"

"For good, I think," smiles Leif, "I hope. I've been away long enough."

He has. The Thompsons were one of those prominent captain-of-industry families, and some of their business practices had started to take the heat around the time I left for Japan. By the time I came back to Gotham, things had taken a turn for the worse. One night, an angry horde of Thompson Industries employers stormed the Thompsons' family home and beat Mr. Thompson almost senseless. The Gotham PD had been at the scene, but that was before Jim Gordon had risen in the ranks, and back then they were easily bought off. They did nothing to stop this from happening.

Mr. Thompson died in the hospital a couple of days later from his injuries. His remaining family pressed charges against the protestors and the police, but media coverage against Thompson Industries was so vicious that finding an impartial jury was impossible. Soon after that, they disappeared from Gotham.

Around that time, Andrea had just left and I was at one of the lowest points of my life, so I barely noticed any of this happening. My only connection to the Thompsons was Veronica, who met fiancé number two (soon-to-be husband number one) right after Leif broke up with her, so she recovered quickly. Life went on for all of us.

I know what it's like to have a parent brutally taken away, so I'm glad to see that Leif seems to be doing well, considering the circumstances. I'm about to say something to that effect, but instead I nearly choke on my seltzer because I see Diana.

She walks into the room clearly searching for someone, and when she sees me stops in her tracks. We gape at each other for a good second before Leif follows my line of sight and waves her over.

Wordlessly, she joins us. Leif greets her by putting his hand low on her back and turns to me. "Bruce, I'd like you to meet Princess Diana of Themyscira."

Sometimes, when patrols are slow, I wonder what Bruce Wayne would say to Wonder Woman if he ever met her again in public. Now I'm relieved that I'm already prepared, because right now I'm angry with myself for not expecting this tonight.

"Of course! Wonder Woman!" I almost fall over myself in full _Brucie_ mode and stick my hand out. "I'm _Bruce Wayne_! We danced together in Paris a couple of years ago. You probably don't remember." I give her a smile that usually makes half of the women in the city want to rip off their clothes and fall at my feet, but it had no such effect on Diana. Damn. She only looks mildly confused.

Yet without missing a beat, she shakes my hand politely. "Yes, I remember," she pretends to muse, "It was the night that the Kasnian special operatives decided to crash the party."

"You know, we never did get to finish our dance," I murmur suggestively.

It's a low blow. But I don't like the feeling that she's more in control of the conversation than I am. Understandably, given our history, Diana glares daggers at me.

"Whoa, whoa," giggles Veronica, "Easy there, tiger. You'll have to excuse him, Wonder Woman," she explains, "Bruce has a reputation for being a bit of a slut." She slaps her hand against her mouth. "Whoops! Am I allowed to say 'slut' in front of an Amazon?"

Diana smiles graciously. "I'm sure that Mr. Wayne is just very charming."

Of course the universe likes to conspire against my plans when it comes to her. I came to Veronica's to forget about Diana. And yet here she is, standing across from me in front of the fireplace. Eating across from me at the dinner table. Sitting across from me during Veronica's impromptu poker game.

I've hardly ever seen her without her armor on; tonight she has hair pulled back and she's wearing a black smocked dress that hints at nothing that's underneath. I can't remember seeing anyone looking so radiant in such simplicity. Can't stop stealing thoughtful glances at her.

It must have been another Diana who told me a few years ago (after Paris) that she was intensely curious to see what I was like when I was playing socialite; tonight she has her chance, but she's too occupied with Leif to look at me as much as I'm looking at her. They're sharing cards as it's Diana's first time playing poker, and whenever he reaches around her to guide her hand, her eyes shine. At one point, he rests his chin on her shoulder as he studies her cards and she tries to hide a smile, but I can tell that she's delighted.

I look over at _my_ partner. Veronica, in the company of good friends and fresh from divorcing husband number five, is incontrovertibly drunk. Her legs are hanging from my lap and she's slumped against my shoulder, looking up only to laugh heartily at minutiae in the conversation around the table.

About an hour into the game, Leif quietly concedes defeat. "We fold." He and Diana excuse themselves and begin the process of see-you-soons, and I finally catch her eye. Something in hers flickers when she sees me, but she gives me a quick nod before she turns to take Leif's hand.

"We're going to see them everywhere," Veronica professes to me as she watches them leave. She insisted that she was sober enough to see them out the door, and now she's steadying herself on my arm.

"I didn't realize that drinking your weight in rum and diet coke made you clairvoyant, Ronnie."

"It doesn't," she says with perfect seriousness. "But Leif Thompson is doing very well for himself, and he wants to get back into the Gotham social scene after being away for so long. And having a sexy, famous girlfriend won't hurt matters any."

"You think he's _using_ her?" I pretend to sound aghast.

"Ehh, no, he seems to genuinely like her. He's not a bad person." Veronica becomes quiet. "Do you think my life would have been better if I had married Leif? What if I had it right my very first time? What if he was—" she gives a dramatic pause – "the _one_?"

"You'll find true love yet, Veronica Vreeland," I assure her as I pat her hand.

"If only you weren't like a brother, Bruce. A promiscuous, boring brother," she amends, and winks fondly at me. "I'll see you this Friday at Paul Champe's fundraiser?"

"You know me, Veronica. I _never_ miss a good party." It's strange, but this time I actually mean it.

- - -  
And so begins a whirlwind of parties. Bruce Wayne attends almost every one of them. So does Leif Thompson, joined at times by his girlfriend, Wonder Woman.

Sometimes, I only catch brief glimpses of her through the throngs of partygoers. Other times, I'm part of the small group that she and Leif are mingling with at the time. And there are some times when I spend all night looking for her – even at the expense at starting patrol late – only to find that she isn't there at all.

Diana is in _my_ city. I have the right and responsibility to know what meta-powered superheroes are doing in my city. I can't tell what Alfred thinks about all of this. Not sure I want to find out yet. Tim and Barbara, on the other hand, enjoy toeing around the subject of my suddenly more active social life. Barbara has taken to now greeting me over the comm. link with: "Hey, are you free to fight social evils or are you too busy creating them?"

Tim is a little less direct. This morning at breakfast he spilled his juice on the _Gotham Gazette_ society page and cried out, "Now how the heck am I going to find out how many blonds Brucie went home with last night?"

They can have fun for now, because they scare easily. As long as Dick doesn't join in.

Diana only comes to events in Gotham that aren't overrun with the media, which means that she hardly comes to fundraisers. When she shows up at a cocktail party, even then she stands in a corner with Leif and a few others, hardly drawing attention to herself.

After just a couple of weeks, the social elite of Gotham accepts her as an only slightly remarkable fixture at their gatherings. As a well-behaved member of the Justice League, she garners less attention than a "real" celebrity (or even Bruce Wayne, for that matter).

Now I hardly see her at the Watchtower unless J'onn sends us on a case together. We used to always run into each other up there (and I'm sure that much of it was premeditated). It's different even on missions; when I see her I think of her in some pretty dress laughing along with Leif. I think of how frustrating it is for me to see her in Gotham but not having a valid enough reason to keep her out of it. I know I'm more sullen than usual, and she responds by pretending not to notice.

I come home from a garden party one night (she wasn't there) and instead of heading straight for the cave, I go to the living room. Tim's unfinished homework is scattered on the ground. The television remote is on top of his algebra book. I pick it up and sit on the couch, but I don't turn on the TV.

"Master Bruce?" asks Alfred after some time.

"About a year ago, Diana approached the subject of having a relationship with me," I say before I've finished deliberating whether saying it aloud is a good idea, "I told her that an immortal warrior princess and a troubled rich kid could never make it work. And now…"

"Now she happens to be with another 'troubled rich kid,' and you're realizing that your objections aren't as well-founded as you initially thought."

I look at him. Alfred doesn't judge me, not through words anyway. Why would he, when I can read his eyes perfectly well? "Gotham is my responsibility. That means knowing what meta-powered humans are doing here."

"But this isn't just any meta, sir," says Alfred with a hint of pursed mouth, "This is Miss Diana. She is respecting your boundaries, so perhaps your time would be better spent finding crime on the streets rather than trying to find nonexistent transgressions in her behavior."

He sees right through my excuse, not that it's a particularly good one. But that's what it is – an excuse. When I saw her at Veronica's that night, I realized something, and every night since then, I've been trying to convince myself otherwise. I decide to tell Alfred. "Diana and I could have dated. It would have been easy. Easier than I thought."

Alfred puts his hand on my shoulder, though he says nothing.

"But it's too late now." Tim will already be waiting for me on patrol. I get up and head to the cave for the night.

* * *

_To be continued._


	2. Chapter 2

I've been awake for forty-six hours. This isn't unheard of, but because it's following a thirty-seven hour stint of wakefulness after which I only got three hours of sleep, it is getting to me. Running a multi-billion dollar company and keeping tabs on the superstitious and cowardly is time-consuming enough as it is; being a full-time socialite is the straw that broke the camel's back.

I know that Wonder Woman is in deep space with the Justice League for a couple of days, so I started petrol early today. Barbara begged for the night off, Dick is in Bludhaven, and I made Tim stay home to finish his Civics paper. Tonight it is only Gotham and me. Like in the old days.

I'm in my element.

After dealing with a couple of minor incidents, I'm having some trouble keeping my eyes open. I see a kid sitting on a balcony in an apartment complex, poring over a magazine. A minute later, I'm in front of him.

He glances up when my shadow falls across his lap, and instead of looking surprised, he calmly considers me. "Are you really Batman?" he challenges.

"Yes."

"Prove it."

I pull out a batarang.

"Cool!"

"Do you have coffee inside?"

"I can get you some." He scurries inside, leaving behind his magazine. I glance at the page he left open: "_**WHICH**__ Gotham playboy has been spotted at more parties than we can keep track of? Prying eyes say that this grizzled groper is smitten with the latest debutant of the Gotham set (who has a pad that orbits the Earth). Our advice to him? We know you're not known for your smarts, but when you stare at someone like that without your sunglasses on, the whole world can see, B! That's 'B' for _billionaire_, natch_."

Grizzled? I missed my last coloring appointment because I was in a sewer fighting Killer Croc.

The kid comes back and hands me a steaming mug. "I put in two spoons of sugar," he informs me.

I finish it in one go. "Thanks." He beams. "I didn't know that children read celebrity gossip these days."

He snorts, like it's the funniest thing he's heard in a while. "They don't. My sister told me that there's an article in here about the Arachnid Man movie."

"Robin likes Arachnid Man too," I tell him. "What will you give me that magazine for?"

He thinks for a minute. "That batarang." We make the exchange. "Bye, Batman! Tell Batgirl I say hi!" he cries after me as I shoot up to the sky. Real cute kid. Reminds me of Clark.

The police scanner in the Batmobile says that there's been a break-in at the Gotham City Museum of Antiquities, which is where I'm headed now. Jim mentioned something about having extra security there after a display of especially rare Greco-Roman artifacts was brought in from Metropolis last week. So much for that.

Despite the thick layer of kevlar that separates me from the rolled-up magazine, I can still feel it digging into my side. I know exactly how often I stare at Diana; I've always had the cowl to hide it. Seeing her outside of the League like I have been these days is throwing me off. Damage control will be easy, but it won't be pleasant. Something like, _Of course I'm staring, haven't you seen her rack?_

As if on cue, the image of her—

I reach the museum. There are two security guards at the entrance on the verge of unconsciousness. I check to see if they're bleeding, and strangely enough, any gaping wounds they might have sustained seem to be…cauterized.

A thief with a conscience. Either they're new at this game, or they're deluded into thinking that stealing from a museum is necessary on a path to something righteous.

I go inside to investigate. In this exhibition, the item that can sell for the most in the black market is a bronze bust of Apollo, which will be displayed down the hall and to the left in one of the Greek galleries. It's the only lead I have right now.

But before I can take more than two steps I'm face to face with an abrupt wave of flames that spills down the hall. There's a cast-iron Roman coffer in the gallery entrance right by me; I jump behind it. As soon as I do the room is flooded with light and heat, and then, just as suddenly as the fire cascades in, it's gone. There's the sound of footsteps fading away. Judging by their rhythm, whatever it was is moving on more than two legs.

Right now I'm not equipped to go after anything wielding that much literal firepower. When I stand up from behind the coffer and see the extent of damage in the gallery, I confirm this. The walls are scorched. Most of the antiques in the room are covered in soot, and the floor is scattered with rubble from the momentum of the volley of fire, some of it still alight.

Something shifts beneath the debris in the opposite corner of the room. Batarang on the ready, I approach.

"Selina?" Catwoman.

She grins. "Help a girl up, will you?" One hand shoots into the air.

I take it and pull her up so that we're standing face to face. "I take it you're just as surprised as I am," I tell her.

"Well, yes. I haven't seen you around much since you joined all those other capes up in the Justice League."

"I meant about the fire."

"Oh." She dusts herself off with one hand. "That was a surprise too. Didn't expect to get sidelined like that."

I grab her other hand and pull her towards me. She licks her lips and growls. "At least buy me a drink first."

"What's in your hand, Selina?"

"I've been a good girl for a while now, I promise!" she protests, "I just saw this at the gallery opening last week and had to have it." She opens her hand to reveal a bronze jewelry box encrusted with rubies.

"I thought you liked cats."

She opens it to reveal a lion engraved inside. "I still like bats, too."

I almost smile, but then decide against it. There's the sound of tires screeching outside. The police. "Either you put that back or I let them put you away."

"I forgot how much I didn't miss your one-liners," she teases. "But I've missed _you_. I'll tell you what, I'll only put it back on the condition that you and I get a chance to get reacquainted."

Selina was the first woman I had felt attracted to after Andrea. I even thought I could fall in love with her, until I found out that she was Catwoman. After that, she became my favorite hobby. "Rooftop. Fifteen minutes." I let go of her wrist. She springs away, and then turns around to blow me a kiss.

Now that she can't see me, I smile.

- - -  
"So how'd they let you out of the Watchtower tonight?" Selina greets me as she hands me a styrofoam cup.

"Did you pay for these?" I ask her.

"Do you really want to know?" she challenges.

I take a sip and observe her. "I'm here."

She smirks and sits next to me. "You certainly are. You look good, Bruce."

I take another sip.

"Aren't you going to return the compliment?"

It's my turn to smirk. "Do you really want to know?"

She throws her head back and laughs. Her voice echoes in the night air. "And here I was afraid you'd changed."

"Selina, we saw each other five months ago when you tried to steal those jewels on-loan from Veronica Vreeland's safe."

"Oh, right," she remembers. She finishes her coffee and sets the cup down, then stands to face me. "It was _still_ different, B. Remember once upon a time we used to _play_ before you'd turn me in?" Her hand touches my cheek. I brush it away.

"Do you know what the other person in the museum was after?"

"I don't. I thought that was why you stayed back to talk to the police."

I get up and make my way towards the other edge of the roof near to where the Batmobile is, but Selina stops me. "This rendezvous wasn't for shoptalk, so why the hurry?"

"I'm in the middle of patrol. I don't have time to waste."

Her eyes narrow. She unhooks her whip and snaps it in the air as a threat. "First of all, I am not a waste of time," she glares, "and second, you haven't told me anything about where you've been lately. We used to set the air between us on fire, or have you forgotten?"

"You want to catch up, Selina?" Her mouth is pursed defiantly. "Come with me to Policeman's Ball tomorrow night."

The hand that's flexing her whip goes limp. "What?"

I enjoy seeing her caught off guard. "You want uninterrupted time to chat? Come to the Policeman's Ball with me. Bruce Wayne could use a reason for publicity other than his recent habit of making eyes at Wonder Woman."

She snorts at that, then studies me. "Are you sure about this?"

"Do you really want to know?"

She rolls her eyes. "Pick me up at seven." She takes my hand and presses something into it. The jewelry box from the museum. Without saying another word, she winks at me and jumps off of the ledge. I blame Clark for believing that people can reform, but I'm even more hopeless than he is – when it comes to her.

- - -  
Just as I had planned, when I walk into the room with Selina, every single camera is pointed towards us. She uses this opportunity to link her arm through mine and pose for the paparazzi with her other hand on her hip. "I forgot how much they love me," she gloats through a smile.

"Don't take all the credit for yourself," I say into her ear, lingering long enough for several photographers to take the shot.

"You may be their regular bimbo, but you weren't the one who revealed herself to the world to be a socialite vigilante in skin-tight clothes," she reminded me under her breath, "Although, you_ could_ if you wanted to."

It may be the way that she manages to take all of my grand gestures and reduce them to one pithy observation, but I always have to _try _not to smile around Selina. Since we're putting on a show right now, though, I let myself laugh heartily at this. Bringing the "former" Catwoman to the Policeman's Ball will keep me in the tabloids for a while. Any rumors about Bruce Wayne and Wonder Woman will be brushed aside for stories of this fresh act of idiocy. This knowledge is coupled with the fact that Selina's company is never dull. I'm going to enjoy myself tonight.

We mingle our way around the room, staying with the same people just long enough for Selina's backhanded compliments to sink in. When she's busy trying to shock David Ferrier of Ferrier Tires and his wife, I notice that Diana, Jim Gordon, and Barbara have gathered just behind us.

Jim is not good at the politics of police work. He's been trying valiantly all night to smile at the people who are responsible in large part for giving his department some much-needed funding; even having his daughter with him isn't putting him at ease. I can tell that he'd give anything to swap the wineglass in hands for a cup of bad coffee and the room full of self-important socialites for a bloody crime scene. It's why I like him.

But with Wonder Woman, Jim is a little star-struck. "It's an honor to have you here," he says to her in that earnest way of his.

"And I am very pleased to be here," Diana returns, also earnest. She knows about Jim. I've told her. "Although really I'm attending as the guest of a patron rather than as a member of the Justice League."

"Well, just in case we don't get to meet again under such pleasant circumstances, I want to thank you for all of the work the League does." Attaboy, Jim. Barbara echoes her father's sentiment in less coherent words. I've kept her and Tim at a distance from most of the Justice League with the exception of Clark.

"I appreciate that, but we should be thanking _you_, Commissioner. My colleagues speak very highly of you."

Apparently, Selina notices that I've been listening in, because she chooses then to grab my arm and face me the other way so that we've joined their conversation. "One of these colleagues wouldn't be Batman, would it?" she asks Diana.

Barbara looks from Selina to me in visible shock. Jim's mood sours again when he sees her. His jaw is clenched. Only Diana looks nonplussed.

"Hi, Commissioner, Barbara," I say sheepishly, "Wonder Woman."

"Hello, Bruce," responds Diana politely enough.

Selina holds out her hand. "Wonder Woman! Thrilled to meet you. I'm Selina Kyle – Catwoman. I know Batman _very_ well," she adds with an impish grin.

Ordinarily, I like her brazenness, but around Diana it makes me…uncomfortable. Diana shakes her hand, but now she's taken aback too. She steals a puzzled glance at me when Selina moves on to tease Jim a little. Barbara, on the other hand, is drilling holes into my forehead with her unwavering glare. I didn't tell her about my date.

"I'll tell Dick you said hi," I offer.

"I'll tell him _myself_, thanks," she snaps.

At dinner, Selina and I are seated at Veronica's table, where according to the place cards Leif and Diana should be as well. Veronica scowls at us as Selina and I take our seats. Selina and Ronnie have…history.

"Oh, Bruce, I see you've brought a thieving tramp to dinner," Veronica greets us, ignoring Selina.

"I didn't realize that we'd have to share a table with a heartless butcher of innocents, Bruce," Selina rejoined, ignoring Veronica.

"Ladies, ladies!" I pretend to laugh nervously. "Let's put the past behind us and enjoy the salmon. You like salmon, don't you, Selina?" She's still glaring at Veronica, but at this, she stifles a smirk and begins to rub my hand possessively. Veronica frowns, and her hapless date nervously clears his throat. I spot Diana and Leif sitting a few tables away.

- - -  
She and I both respond to our comm. links in the same backroom. There's an emergency just outside of Gotham. J'onn contacts us because we're nearby, but in the end puts Black Canary on the job.

Diana clicks off her comm. link as she leans against the wall. "Sometimes I miss there being just the seven of us," she sighs, and gives me a small smile.

I look at her. This isn't the time or place to acknowledge Batman. "Mr. and Mrs. D'Anda's table can't possibly be more interesting than Veronica's and mine."

She considers me for a moment, then straightens. "Sorry. I didn't think it would be wise for a known member of the League to be photographed with a former criminal." She says this calmly, without passing judgment.

I don't like the feeling that I'm the one acting irrational. I have to get a rise out of her to even the playing field. "I think we're okay on that front – you're more known for being Leif Thompson's girlfriend these days than you are for being in the Justice League."

It works – Diana's eyes narrow. "You're going to begrudge my personal life?" She juts a finger in my chest, which would be innocuous if she wasn't an Amazon. "I've followed every one of your rules," she says in a low, steely voice, "and yet you still treat me like I'm a threat to your mission. What is it about my being in Gotham that bothers you?"

"You shouldn't be here _at all_."

"Crime rates haven't wavered since I arrived. I've gotten almost no press in the last few weeks. Just because I run in the same social circles as you…" She draws her brows together. "You're acting too paranoid, even for you."

I take her hand from my chest and return it to her side. "The more my daytime activities overlap with my other ones, the more in danger I am of having it all blow up in my face. Clearly, I can't avoid you in Gotham."

"…So you're going to avoid me in the Watchtower to compensate?"

I don't say anything. My argument is weightless unless I'm honest with her: I don't like the idea of her in Gotham unless she's here with me.

Diana shakes her head and walks back into the ballroom.

- - -  
Selina and I barely make it through the front door of the Manor before we're tearing at each other. Alfred, wisely, decides to take the back door. Kissing Selina with reckless abandon brings back memories. Back when things were less complicated, when it was just me and Gotham. Alfred wasn't so cynical. Dick was young.

Now I've let too much in. I get distracted. I've gotten soft, but I'm not any nicer. As vaguely angry as I am at Wonder Woman, I know that I can't blame this on her.

Selina buries her hands in my hair and tugs at it. "Here?" she gasps.

"No." I lead her into one of the nearby studies. She growls playfully and pushes me onto the couch, and we start again. Even as recently as ten years ago, this is what I would fantasize about it in those rare moments I let myself think about things other than the mission – not Batman and Catwoman, but Bruce and Selina, leaving a racy wake of destruction around the Manor.

I'm not that person anymore. Selina tears open my shirt with such energy that buttons fly everywhere. She goes straight for a fresh scar. I wince, then gently push her away.

She looks as surprised as I feel. "You don't like that anymore?"

"No – I do." The woman who's pinned me down on the couch isn't the problem. She doesn't respect me, or my mission, all that much. Still, she is my equal, is maybe better because she draws _life_ from people, while I leave with resentment and a lack of resolution.

The problem is in the circumstances. It's what I've had to become after all those times she's used me and left me to wonder. It's in Gotham. It's in the Watchtower.

"Selina," I begin.

"Yes, Bruce?" she frowns. Already, she's losing interest me, in all of this.

"I can't stop thinking about Wonder Woman."

She sits up straight and looks down at me. "What, like you're in love with her?" She's joking by her exaggerated simper.

"Possibly." I don't know how Selina was able to draw out from me what no one else has been able to yet. I wasn't expecting to admit this to her, but I'm confident that there are no drawbacks to telling her. After all these years, we've become something like friends.

She puts a hand over her mouth and laughs humorlessly. Looks sorry for me. "Are you going to do anything about it?"

"No," I admit.

She's smug. "I expected as much."

- - -  
After Selina leaves I head into the Cave. Tim is there, training in the simulator. When he sees me, he stops what he's doing. "How was the date with Catwoman?" he wants to know.

I walk right past him and he throws his hands up. "Fine," he huffs, "By the way, Babs sent something over for you. It's a picture of the stuff that was stolen from the Museum of Antiquities."

I pull up the image on the monitor. The stolen items are two relatively unremarkable ancient Greek shields. Barbara sent over as much research on them as she could gather, but it's not much. She's attached a note – '_Ask Wonder Woman?_' I rub my temples and sigh.

* * *

_To be continued._


	3. Chapter 3

**AN**: Spoilers for the BTAS/TNBA episodes "Chemistry," "The Demon Within," and "Mask of the Phantasm."

* * *

So much for avoiding Diana in the Watchtower. The day after I told her that I would, I'm seeking her out because I'm investigating why two apparently unimportant ancient Greek artifacts were stolen in Gotham.

Booster Gold is on monitor duty with her. She'll already be annoyed. "Wonder Woman."

She turns around as though she's been expecting me. Speaking low so that Booster and his robot friend don't hear, she tells me, "I just want an explanation, not an apology."

"I have nothing to apologize for." I don't.

She scowls. "Then what is it?"

"What can you tell me about these?" I hand her the pictures of the stolen items.

She takes them and leans forward in her seat as she inspects them. "These are the shields that the Argonauts in their later wars. Once Athena blessed the shields, they were undefeated."

"Are there others like them?"

"Yes, there was one for each Argonaut, but not all of them were recovered." Suddenly, she blushes. "Leif has one of them hanging above his bed."

"I see. These ones were stolen from the Gotham Museum of Antiquities two nights ago."

She frowns. "Is he one of your suspects now?"

I don't say anything.

She rolls her eyes and hands the pictures back to me. "Have fun," she half sighs.

Had she been anyone else, she would have berated me for doubting her boyfriend, for trying to find fault with her having a life outside of the League, for not trusting her instincts. It was what exactly what Shayera did when I looked into Carter Hall just last month. But Diana accepts it wordlessly, because the League mission is her top priority. It's why she's better than most people I know. But I remind myself that she failed to notice that she might be dating a potential museum thief with esoteric tastes. The feeling of regret subsides.

- - -  
Tim and I go on patrol that night. He's in a good mood because he got a B+ on his civics paper, and I'm in a good mood because I'm going to expose Wonder Woman's boyfriend and have her out of Gotham once and for all. "What's on the agenda tonight, B?" Tim asks as I pull out the homing device. I planted a tracker on Leif before Tim joined me.

"We're following Leif Thompson."

"Is he a bad guy?" Tim demands.

"Presumably."

"Aw man!" he cries with more feeling than I expected, "Why do the cool guys always turn out to be the bad guys?"

"What's so cool about Leif Thompson?"

"Uh, Bruce, are you _seriously_ asking me that question?" I can tell that he's rolling his eyes at me just from his tone. "He's dating _Wonder Woman_."

"That doesn't make him cool. Wonder Woman is just a person." I look at him, then back at the homing device. Say in a low voice, "_I _could have dated Wonder Woman."

Tim snorts, but then pretends that he was actually clearing his throat. "Have you ever even _had_ a girlfriend?" he ventures after he decides his throat is sufficiently clear.

"Have _you?_"

He's quiet after that.

Leif is on the move within minutes. We follow the signal on the homing device to the Gotham University Archeology Center, which is on the outskirts of campus next to some buildings that were currently under construction. The security system is complex, but it's WayneTech. I let Tim handle it so that he gets practice.

Inside, Leif is greeted with a handshake by a professor who I identify from an old newsletter. "Wonderful to see you, young man," he says to Leif, "I'm so happy to see you back in Gotham after everything that happened."

Leif doesn't smile. "You didn't seem to care very much when we left, even though you should have."

The professor looks uncomfortable. "There's nothing I could have done to prevent it, Leif. There's nothing _you_ could have done."

After this cold exchange, the two become suspiciously cordial. They talk about Gotham, about heritage appropriation, about the professor's dog. Tim looks at me and makes a face. "He's not a bad guy. His only crime is that he's _boring._"

The professor leaves his seat and goes to open a glass display case. He pulls out two urns and hands them to Leif. Leif examines both of them as the professor explains that they're an identical set, a rare find. I motion for Tim to take a picture for later reference.

Leif sets one of the urns down. "They are not identical."

"I'm sorry?" The professor laughs. He's condescending. "I believe I'm the archaeological authority between the two of us."

"It's an understandable mistake," Leif says seriously, "But they're not the same."

"And why should I believe _you_?"

"For the same reason my father believed you."

The professor colors. "You can't hold that against me. I wasn't the only one."

Leif nods. "I know." He picks up on of the vases and grasps it with both hands. Closes his eyes.

It happens within a second. Leif's visible skin erupts into patches of scaly gray and he bares his teeth. A surge of flames shoots from his mouth. The fire hits one of the exposed gas mains.

I leap over Tim and pull him against me to shield him. Click on my comm. link. "J'onn! I need transport to Watchtower, _now_."

The fire manages to burn through my gloves just before we disappear.

- - -  
J'onn is at the teleporter platform when I materialize there with Tim, who is slumped against me. Wordlessly, J'onn takes him from my arms and flies to the medical bay. I run after him.

Years before, when Dick told me he wanted to be Robin, I said no at once. When he proved that he was capable despite my objections, I had to relent. It was the only way that I could keep him safe. But when something like this happens – when the situation is beyond their control – when just _being_ there puts them in danger…

Dick and I went through stages in our relationship. It's still changing. But Tim and I, we've been straight with each other from the beginning. If anything happens to him because I didn't anticipate what was going to happen tonight –

J'onn stabilizes him after a few minutes, and then he turns to me. "Tim's burns seem to arise from a magical source. If you'll allow it, Etrigan has a salve that will heal them immediately."

"Do it."

I finally take a full breath. Now that Tim is out of immediate danger, other things replace the consuming feeling of worry. Leif's transformation, for example. I tell J'onn to call Etrigan himself to the Watchtower.

- - -  
J'onn reads my memory of tonight. When Etrigan arrives, J'onn takes Leif's form and reenacts his transformation based on what he gleaned from my mind. He then leaves to see to Tim.

Etrigan considers thoughtfully. "He's a dragon."

I don't accept this as unequivocally as he does, even though I saw the same thing. "A dragon?"

"Yes."

"Leif Thompson."

"_Yes_."

"Wouldn't Wonder Woman have noticed?"

Etrigan snorts as he sweeps past me to look up something in the database. "These types are adept at tricking people, trust me. I fell in love with that sorceress without realizing what she was, and I'm still paying through the nose."

"Love?" Who said anything about love?

He looks over his shoulder and narrows his eyes. "If he stole those shields, he knows what his _afxitìs _is."

"His what?" At least Zatanna gives me straight answers.

"His _afxitìs_," he repeats, "Think of his magic as having a certain frequency, and the _afxitìs_ as the one material object imbibed with enough enchantment to intensify the frequency of his own."

"So if Thompson has a score to settle with someone – like his father's killers – he'll have more than enough firepower to make sure that he gets the job done."

"He'll have enough to incinerate your _entire_ city if he gets enough of his _afxitìs_."

"He needs all of the Argonauts' shields?"

"Perhaps. Or perhaps he has enough of them. I won't know until I can see him and sense it directly."

We go to Tim's room in the medical bay. I blink twice when I see Clark there with his biceps flexed, kissing each one. Tim is giggling, and then he cries, "Green Arrow!" Suddenly Clark melts into Ollie stroking his beard. Tim throws his head back and chokes with laughter as Ollie turns into J'onn.

"Awesome! Now do Bruce."

"That's no fun," I say.

Tim yelps when he sees me and darts behind J'onn, who beams at this and sinks into the floor to appear again between Etrigan and me. Tim, exposed, smiles sheepishly at us. "You should go home," I tell him. "Do two runs in the simulator, or work on your math. No video games."

Tim slaps a hand on his face and drags it down his cheek. "Ugh, Bruce, fine." He then brightens up. "Can I take a Javelin back to the Cave?"

"Teleporter." He makes a face, then shrugs.

"Come," says J'onn, motioning for Tim.

Tim follows him out the door. "Can you give me a heads up right before you press the teleporter button so that I can say 'Beam me down, Scotty?'"

"Yes," J'onn deadpans. Their voices fade away and Etrigan regards me expectantly.

"What now?" he demands.

"Alfred said that Leif is going to be at a party in East Gotham. Bruce Wayne and a plus one are on the guest list."

"Understood," he nods. "I'll see if I can't draw the dragon out of him." I hope that Diana is there when he does.

- - -  
When we reach East Gotham, Veronica tells us that Leif just left minutes ago. Etrigan, now in the form of Jason, says that the next best thing for now will be to take a look at the Argonaut shield that Leif has in his room, but he's unwilling to leave the party because he's busy flirting with Veronica. I let this go on for a few minutes because I know how lonely Jason is, but once I begin to assess whether or not I'm lonely too I put a stop to it.

As we leave the party, Jason admits, "That Veronica Vreeland is a lovely creature."

"Really?"

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I have a type – dark hair, dark eyes, sultry voice. This is the first time in years that I've caught Veronica at one of her unmarried intervals." We step into a dark alley. "She's not seeing anyone, is she?"

A couple of years ago after Veronica's Poison Ivy-derived plant husband nearly killed her, I've run full background checks on the subsequent men she has dated. The Jason/Etrigan combo just won't cut it.

"Can you give her my number?" He blushes as he says this.

"I thought you were doomed to walk the earth alone. It's why we're friends."

He gives a cynical laugh. "That doesn't mean that I don't try to forget it every once in a while." For some reason, even though I've trained myself not to, the image of Wonder Woman toppling an Imperium walker comes to mind. "Isn't that what you do as well? Try to ignore what fate has in store for you?"

"What do you mean?" Jason has seen me with Diana on several occasions, so I suspect I know what he's getting at.

"You brought Catwoman to the Policeman's Ball! Dangerous line you're treading."

The moment passes and I don't feel the urge to confide in him anymore. "I didn't realize that my romantic life was common knowledge in the supernatural circuit."

By this time, Jason has transformed into Etrigan, and he peers at me through a pair of inscrutable red eyes. "I read the tabloids," he says darkly, and then sweeps ahead of me. I choke back a laugh. Old couples do start to act alike after a while.

- - -  
I haven't been at the Thompson mansion since Veronica and Leif's engagement party here – almost twenty years ago – but I know exactly where to find Leif's bedroom to look for the _afxitìs_. Back then Ronnie, drunk on happiness and champagne with a splash of tequila, had dragged Andrea and me to Leif's bedroom. "That bed is going to be mine and Leif's soon!" she had slurred triumphantly as she spilled champagne onto the carpet. "But you two can go ahead and use it for now to warm it up." While Andrea and I didn't avail Veronica's offer right then, we more than made up for it later in a location of our own choosing.

Noiselessly, I drop onto the balcony of Leif's room. I hear the gentle thump of Etrigan's feet behind me and I motion for him to stay back while I go to assess the situation from the glass doors, one of which is open. The Argonaut shield should be on the left adjacent wall right above the bed.

It's there. And on the bed are Leif and Diana.

They're talking in muted voices, clearly having just collapsed parallel onto the bed after returning home from the party in East Gotham. Diana raises one of her legs and reaches under her skirt to slowly peel off a stocking. Leif smiles at her as he loosens his bow tie and fully extends his arm so that his fingertips can graze her face. It's a quiet, intimate moment between two people in a long-standing romantic relationship.

There's only one thing to do. I clear my throat.

Both of them jerk away from each other in surprise. She's on her feet at once, ready to fight, but I can tell by the way her eyes are scanning the room that she suspects it might be me. I step out of the shadows and materialize into view.

"Wonder Woman, we need to talk."

Diana is annoyed. "Hera, _Batman_," she hisses. She steps past Leif, fists clenched. Leif, who was startled before, now appears bored and starts to work on his cufflinks.

"It's League business," I tell her.

She narrows her eyes. "Wait outside."

I open my mouth to protest, but she repeats coldly, "_Out. Side_."

I glare at her, but she doesn't flinch. When I turn to wait outside, I can hear her murmur something to Leif, most likely an apology for my unannounced visit.

Out on the balcony, Diana shuts the door behind her and crosses her arms. "Yes?" she demands.

Everything is dark except for the moonlight. I can see the outline of her legs through her dress. I've seen them bare hundreds of times before when she's wearing her armor, but right now all I can see is the image of them emerging slowly from underneath her translucent black stockings.

She frowns. "Bruce?"

I snap out of it. Look at her squarely in the eye. "What do you know about Leif Thompson's extracurricular activities?"

"What do you mean?"

"An archaeology professor was killed in a fire at Gotham University today."

"You were accusing him of being a thief earlier today. Now he's an arsonist too?"

"It wasn't quite arson. Your boyfriend is a dragon."

"…Excuse me?" She tries not to laugh.

This shouldn't be happening; normally Diana knows that I'm right. "Right. I was surprised myself that you hadn't noticed."

Predictably enough, she doesn't take well to having her intelligence insulted. She scowls at me. "He and I are in a relationship. He would have trusted me enough to tell me something like this."

The naiveness of her statement is out of proportion to the confidence with which she says it. Diana's insight into people usually surprises me, but sometimes I can't stand this naiveté of hers. It's her biggest weakness.

"Your relationship pitfalls aren't why I'm here. You can date _whatever_ you want, but Leif Thompson killed someone in my city and now he is _my_ business."

She's quiet.

"Etrigan needs to take a look at that Argonaut shield to see how much magic Leif can accumulate before he's a threat to the entire city. You need to distract him long enough so that he's—"

Diana lifts up a hand to silence me. "I won't stop you from doing what you need to do, Bruce, but I can't help you this time."

I can't believe I'm hearing this from Wonder Woman of all people. "He's a murderous dragon. Isn't that enough to cool off any burning feelings you have for him, _princess_?"

Her eyes flash. "I need to see for myself if what you're saying is true. I just can't push people away as easily as you can."

When Andrea came back to Gotham years after she disappeared with her father, I felt a kind of happiness that I had never felt after becoming the Batman. Even after I found out that she was the Phantasm, I tried everything in my power to reconcile the knowledge that she had killed to the overwhelming amount of love I had for her – and I almost forgave her. But I had a mission, and I couldn't let anything undermine my commitment to it. It wasn't that Andrea was a distraction, but if I forgave her for her crimes, it would be the first of many exceptions. I had to let her go.

No one can understand that pain. _No _one.

And now here stands Diana, telling me that I can brush off people I care about without thinking twice about it. I grab her arm as she's walking away and pull her back. She could easily toss me aside, but she lets me pull her closer, and closer, until in one swift move I've turned her to face me and I kiss her.

I am angry with this woman. I'm angry because she has made a stupid decision that undermines the safety of my city. She has never been afraid of me. She is just as committed to her mission as I am to mine but she doesn't feel miserable outside of it like I do. I've let her stockings cloud all of my judgment.

I tell her all of this without saying a word. When the kiss is over, she leans her forehead against my cheek for a split second before she pulls back. "What are you doing?" she demands. Her voice is calm.

"I'm reminding you that I'm still here."

She looks at me, and then turns away to walk back into the room.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. I turn around to find Etrigan, but he's already there, perched next to one of the gargoyles. There's an amused look on his face.

"Smooth," he pronounces.

* * *

_To be continued._


	4. Chapter 4

I'm working from my office at Wayne Enterprises over a secure connection to the computer in the Cave. The professor Leif Thompson killed two nights ago was a former employee of the Thompson Industries R&D department. Last night's patrol consisted of planting tags on each of the remaining former employees who Barbara and I decided were in the most danger, but three of our targets were already dead.

It was an inefficient use of my time, but I plan on finishing this soon. Once I get Etrigan near enough to Leif, I'll have enough information about his _afxitìs _to decide when and how I'm going to put a stop to him. To ensure that the two make contact, I'm hosting a surprise birthday party for Veronica at the Manor tomorrow night, where I'll introduce Jason to Leif Thompson. And since it's Diana's night off from League duties, I'm going to make sure that she's there to witness all of it.

While I'm cross-referencing Leif's time in Kasnia with incidences of unexplained fires in the area the doors to my office burst open. I look up in feigned surprise, but then this transforms into actual surprise when I see Selina slinking towards me. My secretary rushes in after her with her arms flailing forward and her glasses askew.

"Mr. Wayne! I know you said no visitors after your meeting with Mr. Fox this morning—I tried to tell Ms. Kyle but she just wouldn't—"

"It's all right, Sarah," I say, taking a moment to admire Selina, who notices this and winks at me. "Close the door when you leave."

Sarah obeys at once, glad to wash her hands of the whole affair. By this time, Selina is next to me; she pushes herself onto my desk and balances on her hands for a split second before lowering down. Her legs hang inches from where I'm sitting. She leans forward to give me a deep kiss, which I return without looking away from the screen.

"I love surprising you," she professes as she clicks open her purse.

I scowl. "I was working."

"Ah, I see that Brucie has left the building. Have you had lunch yet, O Guardian of Gotham?"

"The human body can survive on as little as four tablespoons of peanut butter a day," I inform her as I type.

"And how many tablespoons have you had today?"

I say nothing, but open a drawer in my desk to reveal an unopened jar of Jif.

She bursts out laughing. "You want to get started on that at the Fox Gardens while I order a salad?"

The Fox Gardens is a restaurant a few blocks away that is always teeming with paparazzi. It would be an efficient use of my time as Bruce Wayne. I stop typing and swivel in my chair to face her. "Why?"

She rolls her eyes. "Don't look a date horse in the mouth, Bruce." She sighs as she slides off of my desk and stands to smooth her dress. "I need to be seen. I'm planning on holding a fundraiser for my feline sanctuary in a couple of weeks and I need to be thrown into the public eye to get people interested in coming."

"So this is for the baby animals, then?"

"Well…" She sizes me up with a smirk. "Mostly for them."

"Ah, in that case." I turn off the monitor and stand up. She grins.

- - -  
After lunch, Selina and I stroll around the neighborhood hand-in-hand to give the _Gawker's_ "prying eyes" a little more to pry into. However, we've both silently quickened the pace because of a lack of meaningful emotional attachment between us. When Selina abruptly stops in her tracks my muscles coil in preparation for a threat – until I see that she has paused to admire something in a jewelry display window.

I move closer to her, not bothering to hide a smile at the expression on her face. "The diamond-encrusted _Panthère de Cartier_ platinum arm cuff, Bruce," she admires dazedly. "Just looking at this cold scrap of metal gives me more pleasure than the warm body of a Dark Knight ever could."

"Hey!" I protest, curiosity compelling me to study the bracelet, but as I lean forward I notice through the window that Leif is inside of the store. "Let's go inside," I suggest to Selina as I grab her hand again and yank her into the Cartier.

"Oh!" she gasps, and when she spots Leif, "_Oh_."

Leif smiles broadly when he sees us. "Wayne!" He shakes my hand heartily. It takes all of my control to keep a straight face as our hands touch. I let him and Selina exchange pleasantries before I put forward nonchalantly, "Buying a watch?"

Leif smiles mysteriously. "Not exactly. I'm actually here for an engagement ring."

This is unexpected. I almost frown before I remember who I am.

Selina doesn't hide her skepticism. "An _engagement_ ring? You're not thinking of asking Wonder Woman to _marry_ you, are you?" She says this with a hint of condescension.

"Why is that a problem?"

"Well – other than the fact that I know these superhero types intimately well – won't you have a lot of competition for Wonder Woman from all of those other hunks up in the Watchtower? Any woman would jump on Superman in the blink of an eye."

"Or even Batman for that matter," I add.

"Oh yes, Batman's surprisingly frisky when given the right encouragement," she offers through a grin.

Leif hesitates for a moment, but then smiles. "I appreciate the concern," he says in a tone indicating that he actually means the opposite, "but I wouldn't be asking her if I wasn't relatively certain of it coming out in my favor, Superman and Batman notwithstanding. We'll see you tomorrow night." He nods and returns his attention to the sales associate.

Selina and I exchange glances. She's giving me a look that says _You're letting him get away with that?_ I steel my gaze. If I say anything to him right now that would hint to just how much I know about his true identity, I'll compromise my own. I stay quiet.

We stay in the store for only a few minutes more, and then Selina and I part ways until tomorrow night. I wish I could escape into patrol until then, but even in Gotham the Batman isn't needed in broad daylight, and I don't want to risk running into Diana by going to the Watchtower.

_I'm seeing someone from Gotham_. Every time I've let my mind wander over the last month, the memory of hearing her say those words surfaces. Her relationship with Leif has spanned only four weeks, yet he's already prepared to propose. It won't work out, of course, especially not after I expose him, but I'm curious about why Leif is so confident that Diana will agree to marry him. Earning her trust takes a lot of work and a lot of time; I also know that a month isn't nearly enough time to secure it.

From all of the possibilities I've deduced regarding Diana and Leif (which include hypnotism, blackmailing, and some command involving her Gods), I have also considered the possibility of genuine emotional involvement between the two of them. While this is the least likely possibility, I still keep returning to it. I have very little reason to believe that Diana will agree to marry Leif, mostly because of the history that she and I share. We know that we're not meant for each other, but we still can't tear ourselves away.

But if she has already put me behind her, then she never cared about me as much I've cared about her. Just like all of the other women who've come and gone after Andrea.

- - -  
"You're cranky," Tim declares the next morning over breakfast.

I look up from the paper, wondering if I'm really that transparent. He is standing with his arms crossed in rigid determination. When he meets my gaze, he slackens a little. "…Crankier than usual," he amends. He sits down, then picks up his fork again. "Ah, Alfie, delicious eggs!" he exclaims quietly to no one in particular.

Alfred, perhaps sensing Tim's desperate desire to be rescued, enters the room at that moment. "I've made arrangements for the caterers to arrive at eight o'clock this evening, sir, and I shall be leaving to collect Miss Vreeland at approximately nine thirty. I've taken the liberty of selecting a pair of cufflinks to go with your new Armani, all of which you should be wearing by nine o'clock."

"Thank you, Alfred," I say, still looking at Tim. Tim's eyes widen, and then he smiles back warily. "Do I get to wear an Armani tonight too, Alfred?" he asks, eager to divert my attention away from him.

"You are only fifteen years old, Master Timothy. And moreover after last week's incident with the red wine and the cream blazer, I should think absolutely _not_," Alfred replies breezily. Tim's shoulders slump.

"Wine?" I raise my eyebrows at Tim.

"It wasn't for _me!_" he protests, and then, feebly, "Alfred, these eggs are good…"

I frown. "I'm going to tell Jason to hex the alcohol tonight to physically repelanyone under the age of twenty-one." Tim's eyes begin to roll.

"Speak of the devil," interjects a voice behind Alfred.

Alfred steps aside. "Ah yes, Mr. Blood is here." He retreats quietly as Jason bounds into the room and receives my handshake. Jason takes a seat next to Tim.

"I made that joke for you, Tim," he says as he helps himself to a piece of toast. "I said '_Speak of the devil_,' and I was referring to myself, because I'm also Etrigan the Demon. Do you understand? Ah, Alfred made eggs!"

Tim grins at me through a mouthful.

"So what has our dragon friend been up to lately?" Jason inquires as he reconnoiters his plate with this fork.

"Well, Bruce _is_ in a pretty bad mood today, but I wouldn't go so far as calling him a _dragon_ or anything," explains Tim.

Jason looks up from his food at me, amusement barely contained in his expression. In turn, I look at Tim. "He means Leif Thompson."

"Oh. Um." Tim colors. "May I be excused?"

As Tim leaves, Jason shakes his head. "For someone who's _this_ close to slaying a dragon and winning back his lady love, you're very cross."

"We have to expect the unexpected tonight. It's no secret from you that I don't like magic."

He gives a gruff laugh. "Yes, _magic's_ your problem… You know, I read in the _Gotham Gawker_ that you were spotted going into a jewelry store with Selina Kyle yesterday. I also know that Leif Thompson was there."

I clench my jaw.

"I also read in the _Gazette_ that Bane escaped from Arkham last night and critically injured four people. Which begs the question, Bruce: Why are you focusing all of your attention on this one case at the expense of everything else?"

"Don't you do anything other than read?" I snap.

He doesn't seem amused. "We're very alike, you and I, which is why I'm never quick to judge you. But you asked for my help tonight, and if I'm to do that I must know _everything_ that could factor into tonight's course of events…including the situation between you and the princess." He challenges me with his best stare.

"You're going to shake Leif Thompson's hand, find out about his _afxitìs_, and tell me what you learn. That's all you need to know."

His eyes flicker and he returns to his food. "All right," he concedes. "But remember," –suddenly I see Etrigan in his gaze – "_They do not love that do not show their love_."

- - -  
When Leif arrives that evening, it's without Wonder Woman. "She had some Justice League business to attend to," he explains as I wave over a waiter to offer him some Armagnac, "She'll be here soon. You know how it is with successful women."

I smile benignly. "I don't actually," I confess, "In fact, I go out of my way to _avoid_ successful women. They make me feel…inadequate." I hold my hands up and shrug.

Leif laughs. "I suppose I should have expected that, given your reputation as a ladies' man. If I hadn't met Diana, I would probably agree with you. But be that as it may," Leif takes a glass from the waiter's tray and raises it, "To your bachelorhood!"

"Wait, wait!" I protest, "Just to _my_ bachelorhood? What about yours? Did that ring make it onto her finger already?"

He smiles as he swirls his glass. "My friend, if there's anything significant to report, you'll find out when everyone else does."

"Your call." I shrug again, and just at that moment, Selina appears and fixes herself to my arm. I wink at Leif. "To my bachelorhood!"

As Selina and Leif talk, I signal to Jason by scratching my ear. In a few moments, he makes himself known by clearing his throat. "Excuse me, Bruce, but how in the world did you manage to get your hands on an Armagnac with this hors d'age?"

Leif tilts his glass at this. "It _is_ quite excellent, Wayne. I'd be curious to know myself."

"To be honest, I think it tastes like feet," I say, giving Leif another reason to question my intelligence, "I'll stick to Cristal. By the way, do you two know each other?"

"Haven't had the pleasure." Leif holds out his hand. "Leif Thompson."

Jason nods his acknowledgement. "Jason Blood." This is it. Soon I'll have all of the data I need to defeat one of my most insidious opponents yet.

Jason briefed me earlier that when the two make contact their skins are going to glow for brief moment while they make a psychic-occult connection, but I'm still not prepared for what happens next. As soon as Jason's hand touches Leif's, the two don't glow, but erupt into flames.

The party guests are in chaos after this, but next to me, Selina is frozen in horror. I grab her by the shoulders and entreat, "Get everyone _out of_ here!" At this, she shakes her head and seems to regain her senses; she starts to steer the screaming crowd towards the doors.

I'm assessing how many fire extinguishers I'll need to put this fire out and have a shot of saving Jason when suddenly the flames disappear. In its place are a badly charred Jason and Leif, who is halfway through his transformation into a dragon.

"Hey, Thompson, what's the big idea?" I demand as Brucie.

He – _it_ – looks at me and croaks, "_Water_."

"Try the kitchen down the hall." I barely finish my sentence before he disappears. I kneel down by Jason. "What can I do to end this now?" I demand.

Jason sits up gingerly, but as soon as he's upright he's angry. "His _afxitìs_ isn't Argonaut shields, exactly. It's an alloy within the shields derived from the Aegis."

"The _what?_" I can't place the name, although I've heard it before.

"The Aegis. The Greek god Zeus's indestructible shield."

My eyes widen as realization dawns on me. "Wonder Woman's bracers are made of pure Aegis."

Jason curses. "You've got to stop him. _Go!_"

I don't hesitate as I rush towards the kitchen. To my surprise, he has recovered into his human form and is sitting calmly at the breakfast table. When he sees me, he rises. "Ah, Bruce," he greets me, "Sorry about that back there."

I scowl. "I don't know what's going on here, Leif, but you're definitely paying for the contractors, I promise you that."

He frowns. "Please, Bruce, don't play dumb. I knew you years ago, remember? I know that you're not as big of a fop as you pretend to be. You just confirmed it a couple of minutes ago when you were the only still around when I was halfway through my metamorphosis."

He may have seen through Brucie, but he doesn't know that I'm Batman. I decide to play along. "Fine." I cross my arms. "You discovered my secret intellect, but you're hiding a much bigger secret. How long have you been a dragon? And why would a dragon want to marry Wonder Woman? Are you planning on taking down the Justice League for world domination?"

Leif laughs heartily. "I suppose I should tell you, but only because I want to offer you an olive branch. It's nothing quite so perverse.

"After my father was killed, my family and I disappeared from Gotham and made our way to Kasnia. There, I met…_people_…who helped me realize my true potential. You see, every few generations in my mother's side of the family, someone is born a dragon. I had no idea, and when I learned, I wanted nothing to do with it, but soon after my mother died from a broken heart, and I was consumed with revenge. In Kasnia I learned to call upon this power, to hone it, to _augment_ it."

"Revenge?" I challenge, "Against the police?"

He scoffs. "Not just the police, Wayne. The police didn't kill my parents. The _city_ did. Its media. Its culture of division, of resentful hierarchy. Its people. The entire city of Gotham is responsible for my parents' death, Bruce!" He slams his fist on the table. "But of course, you understand. The same thing happened to you, didn't it?"

I don't say anything.

"You lost your parents to a city where the rich and poor are compelled to prey on each other. Your parents never hurt anyone, Bruce, but their wealth was the only reason that some two-bit crook in a back alley took their lives. _That's_ why you pretend to be so airheaded, so that you can protect yourself from the corruption and _soullessness_ of Gotham."

"So what are you trying to say, that you're going to take revenge on the entire city? How are you going to manage to do that, short of destroying Gotham?"

He grins. "I _knew_ you were intelligent. That's exactly what I plan to do tonight."

"And Wonder Woman is okay with this?"

"Wonder Woman is actually the reason that I'm able to do this. She has certain…_qualities_…that help me…_increase_ my own. Not that she knows about any of this."

His _afxitìs_. Diana's bracers. "If you haven't told any of this to Wonder Woman, then why are you telling _me_?"

"Because I _love_ her," he says, unexpectedly, "I can't risk her leaving me, but this is something I have to do. And I like you, Bruce. You're not like the rest of Gotham. I see myself in you. I'm giving you advance notice so that you can gather your things and leave the city before it's nothing but a charred smudge."

"You sound like a nut!"

"I'm sorry you feel that way. I was only trying to be courteous." He grabs a chair and swings it at me, but I duck. I didn't anticipate that he had a tail to fight with as well, which topples me; I hit my head against the edge of a granite countertop and fall unconscious.

- - -  
When I regain awareness, Diana's face swims into my field of vision. She holds my face in her hands. "Bruce! Thank Hera."

I sit up, slowly, trying to clear my head. "Where's Thompson? Did you see him?"

"No," she says, smoothing back my hair and letting her hand linger. "You're remarkably resilient, Bruce" she sighs, more to herself than to me.

"We've got to stop him." As I move her hand from the side of my face it appears in my field of vision. I'm so distracted by the engagement ring glittering on her finger that I don't immediately register that her bracer is missing as well.

* * *

_To be continued._

**AN:** Ahh! Sorry for the pain-in-the-butt cliffhanger. This chapter was getting way too long as it was. Next up is the final installment. Thanks for reading, and apologies for the long hiatus.


	5. Chapter 5

"Where are your bracers?" I demand of Wonder Woman as I stare at her bare wrist.

"On one arm," she replies.

"Where's the other one?"

"What is the problem, Bruce?"

I stand up at once and glare at her. "Thanks to you, all of Gotham is going to be destroyed tonight." Without waiting for her, I head for the Cave through Alfred's entrance.

She's faster than I am. "What are you talking about?"

"You've left one of the most powerful weapons in existence unprotected and vulnerable somewhere. What made you think that that was a good idea?"

We've descended into the cave by this time. "It's not a weapon unless the wielder knows how to use it. I spent years training with that bracer before I could use it properly. And—"

I have no interest in hearing her defend herself. "Leif Thompson isn't going to use it as a bracer. He's going to use it as his _afxitìs_, because, like the Argonaut shields and ancient Greek vases that he has been stealing, your bracer is derived from Zeus's Aegis."

Diana stops in her tracks. "Why didn't you tell me about the Aegis and _afxitìs_?"

"Because when I came to warn you that night, you wouldn't listen. In fact, you've done the complete opposite and agreed to marry him. You've only known him for a month, Diana. What were you _thinking?_" I don't wait for a reply – I tear off my suit and start changing into my armor, but she grabs my arm and spins me around.

"_Here's_ my bracer," she snarls, and strikes her right forearm. Underneath the bracer that snaps open is another one; she flings the first one at my chest and it hits me with more force than I'm comfortable with. "You only told me about his being a dragon – you said nothing about _afxitìs_ or that it was Aegis!"

I'm relieved to see that her bracer isn't missing, but now it means that I don't know what _afxitìs _Leif is going to use tonight. "Why were you hiding it?"

"I was hiding it from Leif. I left a decoy bracer behind. I had my suspicions when he kept insisting that I take it off so that no other accessory distracted from my engagement ring."

"Don't send me an invitation to _that_ wedding," I grumble.

"You can be sure of that," she snaps, "I only agreed to marry Leif because of your warning! If he's truly as dangerous as you say, I thought it would be wiser to keep him close by rather than at a distance in case he decided to do something drastic."

I'm not pleased with the waves of relief that wash over me when I hear her say this. In fact, the anger I felt towards her is now being diverted at myself. I questioned her loyalty. I forgot seven years of working side-by-side with her because I was angry that she might have moved on romantically.

But this isn't the time to dwell on it. "Did you know what he was going to do tonight?"

"…No," she admits. "But I don't think that he would have had the audacity to use his powers to destroy Gotham if I hadn't staged leaving a piece of pure Aegis behind."

And it was _my_ fault for not telling her, as her look was trying to communicate. I turn away and finish changing. She rips off her dress and tosses it onto the pile of my discarded clothes, then stands with her arms crossed.

Wordlessly, I move to stand face-to-face with her so that there are only centimeters between us. I take her hand and gently pull it toward me so that I can fasten her bracer back onto her forearm. Then I reach behind her and grab a utility belt, which instead of clipping onto myself I secure around her waist. She appraises me in surprise.

"Since you're fighting in Gotham and your armor is a liability, you're going to need some extra weaponry," I explain, and I take her other hand. This is the only way I can ensure that she'll remember, because in my initial assessment of each Justice League member I learned that Wonder Woman was a kinetic-auditory learner. "Here's the acetylene torch." I guide her hand to the first pocket on the left and press it on there. "Here, the grappling hook," and I move her hand to the next compartment.

Her eyes don't break contact from mine, and she lets me guide her hand, pocket by pocket, across the width of her waist. Her breath becomes faster, and she swallows, but her gaze remains steady.

So, she hasn't forgotten about me.

When I'm done, I let my hand linger a split second longer on the last pocket. Before she can say anything, I pull away. "Let's go."

- - -  
Finding Leif isn't difficult – the thermal readings on the Batwing monitor were off the charts. He is waiting on the roof of the Gotham Police Department, leaning on the Batsignal. When I drop from the plane, he straightens. "Ah, the Guardian of Gotham. I wanted to see you before I lay waste to this ulcer of a city. I—" He stops mid-sentence when Wonder Woman drops in after me.

"Diana?" he sputters, and his eyes dart to her arms. "You have your… But then what is this?" From underneath his trench coat, he pulls out the decoy bracer.

"Stand down, Leif," she orders, walking past me. "You have nothing to gain from going through with this."

"I was hoping that you wouldn't find out about this, Diana," he says. "I didn't want to keep such a dark secret from you, but I had no other choice. Lying to you was the only way I could keep you."

"I see. Well, if you surrender now, we can still consider some kind of relationship that won't involve me beating you into Hades." She says it with such calm entreaty that my mouth twitches.

"No! I may have lied to you about my true identity, Diana, but I never lied to you about how much I love you. I need you to look away and let me do this, because I can't start a new life with you until I purge myself of this old one."

"It sounds like you don't know me at all."

A look of disappointment crosses his eyes, but then he narrows them. "I'm sorry you feel that way, but neither you nor Batman is going to stop me from fulfilling my destiny." He tosses the imitation bracer aside. "Even if we weren't meant to be together, Diana, we _were_ destined to meet each other."

Diana gets the same fleeting look of hidden pleasure and rage that she gets before every battle. And then she attacks.

I hang back long enough to contact Jason over the comm. link. "How do we stop him?" I demand. Leif is putting up a fight, even for Wonder Woman.

"With the Gorgoneion sword plunged under his jaw. I've just retrieved it; I'm on my way."

"_Hurry_," I bark, just as I dodge a volley of flames emitting from Leif's mouth. Diana launches herself towards him again. Instead of moving aside or protecting himself, Leif grabs hold of her by her wrists and forces them together.

The scream of abject pain that escapes from her drains all of the blood from my face. Her powers are gone, and Leif grasps each one of her bracers with his hands; a blood-red glow envelops him and he begins to transfigure into a dragon. He's using the Aegis without removing it from her body. Had she been Clark or anyone else, I would still have enough command over my senses to determine a logical plan of attack. But this is Diana suffering. I'm too consumed with emotion to think clearly. This makes her a liability.

Desperate, I try to free her from his grip with tools from my belt, but he roars out a shock of flames with so much momentum that it slams me into the Batsignal. Half of my armor is burnt away in the process.

I can sense my consciousness slipping. I'm dimly aware of the pain from the dozens of tiny shards of glass that are embedded in my body. I see disconnected images of the dragon growing rapidly in size as Diana struggles, trapped. It's not until Etrigan's face is inches from mine that I begin to remember where I am.

He slaps me across my face. "WAKE UP!" he bellows.

Diana. "She's hurt."

He scowls as he pulls me from the shattered Batsignal.

"The sword," I demand.

"Not you," he warns as he thrusts it into my hands, "The princess will have to do it." As I'm about to rush towards Diana, he stops me. "Allow me." His eyes glow. "_Inferno!_" he roars, and with this incantation begins to hurl fire at Leif.

It works; Leif the dragon, now towering at thirty feet, tosses Diana aside and focuses solely on Etrigan. They begin to battle, sheets of flames colliding in mid-air and vanishing into plumes of smoke and combustion. Beneath them, the building begins to crumble. I rush to Diana's side.

She is critically injured, but breathing; the burns and lacerations across her body are especially pronounced on her arms. Carefully, I try to lift her into a sitting position. She blinks slowly, and I see the familiar brilliance return to her eyes.

"When will you regain your powers?" I ask in what I hope is a tone that won't betray the fear I had a moment ago of losing her for good.

"I can sense them. They've returned." She shakes her head in an attempt to clear it. "How can we end this now?"

"The Gorgoneion sword." I hand it to her. As soon as she wraps her hands around its hilt she sits up straighter and smiles.

"Immediately behind his mandible?" she confirms.

"Yes."

She brandishes the sword in one hand and with her other one unclasps her lasso. "In case." She presses it onto my chest, and then leans in for a kiss so fleeting that I might have imagined it.

"Go," I tell her.

She nods and takes off into the air.

Etrigan is still holding his own against Leif, but I can see that he's slowing down; Leif is five times his size and perhaps even more powerful, although not as experienced. We communicate over the comm. link. "I have Wonder Woman's lasso. I'm going to try to bind Leif's jaws together so that she can get close enough to use the sword." I guess Diana's confidence is infectious.

"By all means," Etrigan sneers, "Go right ahead," but he moves aside at once when he sees Diana streak past him. I tie two large pieces of rubble to either end of the lasso to turn it into a long, unbreakable bola. Etrigan breaks into a grin at this.

Not too far away, Wonder Woman is having trouble getting close enough to Leif's muzzle to use the sword as he keeps her busy with a barrage of fire. For someone who was professing his undying love to her just half an hour ago, he seems pretty bent on killing her. I toss Etrigan one end of the rope; he throws it up, which gives me enough momentum to swing it around several times before I launch it into the air. I warn Diana over the comm. link to move aside; she dodges the flying lasso just in time.

It works. Leif's jaws are clamped shut, and no matter how much he struggles, he's unable to break the unbreakable lasso. Diana shoots forward again, but in attempt to loosen the bola Leif starts to shrink. But even he can't match her speed; she reaches into the utility belt around her waist and pulls out a handful of smoke pellets, which she hurls at his face.

I smile.

The dragon is now blinded and suffocating, and with a warrior's cry Diana lunges forward and thrusts the sword into the vulnerable skin under his jaw. The dark red glow that preceded Leif's transformation once again fills the night sky – it encircles him and Wonder Woman and then concentrates into one orb that launches itself into her bracers.

The impact of the massive energy knocks her over and she comes hurtling downwards. "I'll take care of the dragon," Etrigan yells over Leif's embittered roaring, "You take the princess."

That's what I was going to do anyway. I'm not quick (or strong) enough to catch Diana in my arms; the roof crumbles even more where she lands, and I'm at her side at once. I know that she's a trained and highly skilled warrior, but still I can never bring myself to stop worrying about her.

I'm relieved to see that she's conscious; most of the blood that she's covered in isn't hers. I take her hand and say her name with more feeling that I would normally betray. I've consciously decided to abandon self-control for the moment. She just saved Gotham, after all.

She sits up gingerly with my help. "Is he gone?"

We both look at where Leif was standing just moments ago. All that's left of him is a fist-sized ruby resting on a pile of ashes. I'm considering whether I should take it to the Cave when Etrigan bounds over to the gem, inspects it, and then promptly eats it. "Rock of Knowledge," he explains when he sees us staring in amazement.

Diana and I exchange glances, but she looks away first. She sighs as she pulls off her engagement ring and rests it in the palm of her hand. "What's the protocol on returning rings when one of the partners is an evil, murderous dragon?" she inquires in mock concern.

"In Gotham engagement rings signify payment for the eventual fulfillment of a marriage contract. When the contract isn't fulfilled, the ring has to be returned to the giver," I return with equal seriousness.

"All right," she nods, and tosses the ring at Leif's ashes. Etrigan looks at this new addition as well, and after considering for a moment he slips it onto his own finger.

"Any objections if I pawn this off?" he demands gruffly.

"None at all," Diana replies.

He curls up the corners of his mouth in grotesque sign of appreciation and leaves.

I turn back to Diana. She prolonged a fraught relationship with a known murderer, risked her own life to fight him, and even removed one of her sacred bracers – and all of it for me. I don't think that I'm being presumptuous in assuming that she went out of her way for my sake. "Thank you…for everything."

"It was my duty."

It wasn't for me. She would do the same for any of her friends. But I want to confirm this, so I lean forward and kiss her. When she returns it with rivaling intensity, I have proof of the feelings she has just for me.

We kiss again, and again, until she pulls away. "This never ends well," she murmurs, and closes her eyes. I want to put my hand on her cheek, but I stop myself. The mood between us is rapidly fading as the sounds of the police sirens grow louder.

"I'll leave Gotham without letting this become difficult," she declares, "…as long as you promise not to destroy my next boyfriend." Despite her state, she grins.

"I'll give you one thing," I say as I help her up, "You really know how to pick 'em."

Diana's eyes are piercing. "I know," she agrees softly. Sadly. She turns and takes off into the air. I watch her fly into the distance until she's so small and out of focus that all I see is the Gotham skyline.

- - -  
At the next Gotham party, Leif Thompson is the topic du jour and Veronica is the center of attention, a position in which she thrives. "I was engaged to him! For a whole year!" she cries to anyone who mentions the subject even in passing. She waves her hand excessively as she relates the story in order to show off another reason to gossip: an ostentatious bracelet from her new admirer, Jason Blood.

I find myself missing Diana. She was a calm voice of reason at these things, engaging and intelligent but never effusive. Compared to characters like Veronica or even Brucie, she never received any inordinate amount of attention.

I'm still thinking about her during patrol. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have a city to protect right now. I see flashes of her throughout the night: there's the glint of her bracers in Two-Face's coin, the dangerous blue of her eyes in the sapphires that the Penguin tries to abscond with, the gold of her lasso in the artificial teeth of the goon who just tried to take me out with a machete.

When Tim and I get home from patrol that night, he marches straight to bed, but I stay behind in the Cave and pull off my cowl. Alfred has left a plate of sandwiches and cold tea by the phone. I go straight for the tea, but my eyes keep returning to the phone.

Diana has never stopped me from doing what I need to do. When I let myself get distracted, it's because I'm busy feeling sorry for myself for not being able to have her. I've used Gotham as an excuse for my unhappiness. That's exactly what Leif did, but even he managed to have a romantic life, which didn't deter him from his mission in the end.

I sigh and pick up the receiver.

She answers. "Hello?"

"Hi, Wonder Woman? This is Bruce… Bruce Wayne. From Gotham."

"…Yes, Bruce, how are you?" She's taken aback.

"I'm doing great, thanks. Listen, I heard that things between you and Leif Thompson didn't take off. I was wondering if – when the whole media frenzy around him dies off – you'd like to have dinner with me? I know this great place in Gotham."

There's a silence. Maybe I _was _presumptuous to assume that she'd want anything to with me after all the times I've brushed her off.

But then – "That's very nice of you, Bruce, but I don't know. I don't have a very positive impression of romancing wealthy Gotham socialites. You're not hiding a secret identity, are you?" I can hear the smile in her voice.

"Oh, funny you should ask. I'm also the Batman."

"Thank you for your honesty. I suppose we'll just have to explore this. Call me in a month's time – the League's social secretary will set something up."

"Great! That's great. See you in a month." I realize with a start that I'm grinning. "Good night, Diana."

"Good night, Bruce."

* * *

**AN: **I know that I took plenty of liberties with Diana's bracers, but I did some research and it's not totally unheard of for her to take them off, and DCAU continuity is pretty spotty when it comes to Wonder Woman anyway.

Thank you to those who read this story and gave good (and honest) feedback! Loved it.


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